Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The European Union announced on Tuesday the expansion of its list, which includes organizations and individuals linked to terrorism. The amendment included a leader of the Hamas movement and a member of the Somali Al-Shabaab movement. A European statement in Brussels said that the Council decided today to add one individual to the European Union terrorist list. This decision comes as part of the European Union's response to the threat posed by Hamas and its brutal and indiscriminate terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023. The decision entered into force as of today and the person listed is Yahya Sinwar, the political leader of Hamas. After being included in the list, Yahya Al-Sinwar is subject to freezing his funds and other financial assets in European Union member states. It also prohibits EU operators from providing funds and economic resources to it. The decision was published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The statement pointed out that the European Union terrorist list, i.e. the sanctions regime stipulated in the Common Position 2001/931/CFSP, is separate from the European Union system that implements United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015) and targets Al-Qaida organization. And the Islamic State/ISIS.
The European Union may also independently apply restrictive measures to ISIS, Al-Qaeda and persons and entities associated with or supporting them.
Today, the Council decided to add one individual to the list of persons subject to restrictive measures against ISIS and Al-Qaeda and persons, groups, institutions and entities associated with them.
The measures target Ahmed Khaled Mueller, a member of Al-Shabaab in Somalia. The sanctioned person participated in combat operations and committed terrorist acts on behalf of Al-Shabaab. The latter is active in the Horn of Africa region, and is responsible for many terrorist acts in Kenya and Somalia, as well as neighboring countries, and is affiliated with Al-Qaeda.
With this new list and the removal of the name of a deceased person today, a total of 15 individuals are subject to travel bans and asset freezes, and five groups are subject to asset freezes. In addition, persons and operators in the European Union are prohibited from providing funds or economic resources to listed persons and groups.
Today's decision confirms the European Union's determination to confront the continuing terrorist threat posed by Al-Qaeda, ISIS (ISIS) and their affiliated groups in the region. The European Union remains committed to taking decisive action against those who continue to threaten international peace and security by planning, financing and committing terrorist attacks, and by spreading their deadly terrorist propaganda around the world. The relevant legal measures have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union.